Such Visitors
Angela Huth. Trafalgar Square Publishing, $19.95 (224pp) ISBN 978-0-434-35732-1
These 13 stories by a British writer might be better sandwiched between recipes on the glossy pages of commercial magazines. Coy, often featuring tasteful couples caught in tasteful marital crises, they lack artistic vision. In ``Balloons,'' a character announces plans to leave his startled wife: ``But didn't it ever occur to you that things hadn't been well, how shall I put it, quite tickety-boo for some years?'' The husband of ``Sudden Dancer'' secretly takes dancing lessons in order to surprise his petulant spouse, who tardily realizes that not even proficiency in the Charleston will gratify her: `` `Turns out, though, it isn't just the dancing that counts. Not just the dancing,' she sighed.'' The longest entry, ``Ladies' Race,'' is no subtler: two lifelong friends are desperately enamored of the same man, who, unable to choose between them, orders them to compete for his hand by running a grueling race that proves not only fateful but fatal. The ironies throughout are far too heavy to buoy these banal tales. (June)
Details
Reviewed on: 06/05/1990
MP3 CD - 978-1-5318-4423-3
Open Ebook - 206 pages - 978-1-4482-0161-7
Paperback - 244 pages - 978-1-4482-0029-0